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donut

donut

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this is one of those ,a mate of mine wants to know ,( yeah right ) ..this err mate of mine was asked to instal an electric cooker .so he waited for it to arrive and read the installation instructions ,,,,,32 amp trip ,,,and 4mm flex ,,,,when he checked the trip for the cooker on the box it was for 40 amps ,,so he said to the person he was doing it for he needed to change the trip for a 32 amp one ,,,,but as the house is rented ,person he was doing for said he couldnt change the trip ,,,so he said he wouldnt put said cooker in ......

person who wanted cooker put in then got someone else to put it in ,,,,a real electrickian no less ,,but he put it in without changing the trip from 40 to 32 amps ,,,and said it would be fine , now i agree it might well be alright ,,,,,but surely if the instructions say use a 32 amp trip then thats what should be used ????

what are the implications of setting it up like this ?? safe ,,,not safe ????
thank you for any replies and your thoughts
 
If it's rented the landlord is entirely responsible for installing and maintaining a cooking appliance. Why has the tenant gone and changed the cooker?

Landlord needs to be notified and permission sought to change cooker and have correct fuse installed. Landlord could refuse and insist old cooker is restored if it is safe and still works. A tenant cannot just go round removing appliances.

If landlord organised it then tenant cannot refuse to have fuse changed for correct one.
 
It's perfectly safe. If there is a fault which will trip 32A it will trip 40A too.

However... The landlord should have been involved (but you know this!).


Steve.
 
@Steve Smith thanks Steve ,,,so for my edjamacation ,,,,why do they ( the appliance makers ) specify 32amp ,,,and not just say chuck a 60 amp trip in all the holes? and for the lighting and sockets as well
 
Why on earth is your "mate" messing around with this in renting accommodation.

Watch your "mate" doesn't lose his deposit or worse get the boot when the landlord finds out.
 
donut said:
@Steve Smith thanks Steve ,,,so for my edjamacation ,,,,why do they ( the appliance makers ) specify 32amp ,,,and not just say chuck a 60 amp trip in all the holes?
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Because the amp rating protects the cable not the device.

4mm T&E is rated for 32amp, using that on a 40amp fuse means you could exceed the load of the cable. The may result in the cable getting warm, setting on fire and burning down a property.

Get your friend to get a proper spark in (the landlord should be doing this as above) and get it done properly. Not worth the risk.
 
While I agree with sharky in part, the reason the manufacturer is likely suggesting a 32amp trip is that the current draw of the cooker might well trip a lower rated fuse, rather than any likelihood the cooker would draw anywhere near 32 amps. If there were a short for any reason then as Steve said, the 40amp fuse would trip just as easily as the 32amp job.
 
The cable running from the consumer unit to the outlet should be rated at or greater than 40A. There is not a problem with the cable capacity exceeding the trip/fuse rating. You don't want it the other way round though.

If I had a 40A outlet for my cooker and the instructions suggested 32A, I would not run a new, lower rated cable, I would just use the 40A outlet. However, it's fairly trivial to replace the fuse or breaker with one rated at 32A at the consumer unit if you were worried about it.


Steve.
 
Sharky said:
Because the amp rating protects the cable not the device.

4mm T&E is rated for 32amp, using that on a 40amp fuse means you could exceed the load of the cable. The may result in the cable getting warm, setting on fire and burning down a property.

Get your friend to get a proper spark in (the landlord should be doing this as above) and get it done properly. Not worth the risk.
Click to expand...

this was what i had in my head ,,,but not being a proper electrician i wasnt sure ,,i wanted to do it as per installation spec ,but i was screamed at not to touch anything else ,,,so i didnt touch it . they got in a proper electrican and he left the trip at 40A .
and finaly ,,there was no cooker in there ,,the landlord allowed me to wire it up ,,but was going to get "his man the spark " to check it before it was used ....

thank you for all your replies ...
 
Out of interest what is the make / model of the appliance?
 
I assume you're not really a junior member if you are messing around with fitting electrical appliances?! Might want to update your DOB.
 
Property can't be let without a cooker. If there are gas appliances you must get a gas safety certificate within 28 days of the tenancy start. Landlord sounds like a potentially dangerous amateur.
 
Sharky said:
Because the amp rating protects the cable not the device.

4mm T&E is rated for 32amp, using that on a 40amp fuse means you could exceed the load of the cable. The may result in the cable getting warm, setting on fire and burning down a property.

Get your friend to get a proper spark in (the landlord should be doing this as above) and get it done properly. Not worth the risk.
Click to expand...
That's right about the device protecting the cable, so if 4mm T&E is used than a 32A MCB should be used. However as the existing circuit uses a 40A MCB the cable will already be rated to >40A (if originally installed correctly, which a sparky onsite will be able to tell).
An issue may be that the flex cable from the cooker to the connection point on the wall may only be 4mm.

The comment earlier that a fault which will trip 32A will trip 40A too isn't good advice. Yes it's possible that it'll trip it, but whether it will do it within the required time is another matter and requires more knowledge of the installation.

With all that said, if the sparky has signed it off then that's fine - they will have checked the things which needed checking which perhaps you wouldn't have known about. :)
 
TopBanana said:
The comment earlier that a fault which will trip 32A will trip 40A too isn't good advice.
Click to expand...

It wasn't advice.

I would personally be more than happy with a cooker connected to a 40A circuit with a 40A trip or fuse, but again, that's not advice!

It depends on the oven really.

As a rough guide, the larger elements for a fan oven are rated at about 2,500 watts so that's about 11 amps and a hob with all four elements on is about 5,500 watts or about 23 amps (assuming 230 volts).

That's a total of 34 amps with everything on at once (which it rarely will be) so 40 amps isn't really overkill for this.

Also, most cooker outlets are rated at 45 amps.


Steve.
 
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